Researchers test bomb-proof luggage hold for aircraft

It could replace the heavier, more expensive hardened luggage containers that are currently used as a precaution against the threat of in-flight explosions.

The Fly-Bag has multiple layers of novel fabrics, composites and coatings, and is designed to be filled with passenger luggage and then placed in the hold of an aircraft.

Fundamental to the design of the bag is the internal elastomeric coating and impregnation of fabric with shear thickening fluids (STFs), as project collaborator Dr Jim Warren of Sheffield University’s Department of Civil and Structural Engineering explained to The Engineer.

‘If you imagine the yarns of the fabric sliding across each other and changing orientations as you stretch it in both directions at once. What happens is the fluid that’s sprayed into each fibre of the yarn starts to stiffen up and resist that mechanical strain.’

STFs work by increasing their viscosity in response to impact. Under normal circumstances, the particles in STFs repel each other slightly.